Storm, New Moon Likely To Cause Flooding

Weather Service Warns Of High Water On Coast

January 28, 1998|By RICHARD STRADLING Daily Press

A strong coastal storm combined with a new moon were expected to cause flooding throughout Hampton Roads today.

Most of the flooding will be along the coast, where tides will run 2 to 3 feet higher than normal. But the storm will also produce as much as 3 inches of rain in some places, adding to already saturated soils and causing flooding in low-lying areas, said Mike Rusnak, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield.

The weather service issued a coastal flood warning for the region Tuesday, and predicted that the worst of the flooding would occur at high tide this morning.

``That'll be when the storm is at its peak,'' Rusnak said.

The center of the storm was expected to be just to the south of Hampton Roads between 8 and 9 this morning, before turning more eastward out to sea this afternoon, said Don Slater, weather forecaster for WAVY-TV 10.

Some coastal flooding is still possible during this evening's high tide, but mainly on the Southside, Slater said. Tides should moderate a bit on the Peninsula, as winds shift around to the north and become partially blocked by the land, he said.

Even without the storm, tides would have been a bit higher than usual today because of the lunar cycle, Slater said. The new moon -the one that is completely dark in the sky - is tonight.

The storm, which intensified Tuesday as it moved up the coast through the Carolinas, was expected to bring up to 2 feet of snow to the mountains of Virginia. Here, temperatures will remain well above freezing, the weather service said.

The rain should end this afternoon and the clouds begin to clear this evening, both Slater and the weather service agreed. The sun should return Thursday, with temperatures reaching into the mid-50s.